Patent application title: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING COMPREHENSION AND READABILITY OF LEGAL TEXT

Abstract:

A standardized parsing and mark-up technique is provided for printings or
displays of textual materials, including complex legal documents such as
statutes or contracts, to enhance readability and understanding of same.
A presentation may be provided in which textual terms indicating if-then
statements are enhanced with at least one of a first-level if-then visual
marking or a second-level if-then marking throughout the textual material
before the text is presented. Textual terms indicating skeletal sentence
structures are enhanced with a skeletal sentence visual marking
throughout the textual material before the text is presented. A legend
for the textual material may be provided having representations of the
visual markings and their corresponding meanings.

Claims:

1. A presentation of textual material, wherein textual terms indicating
if-then statements and skeletal sentence structures are enhanced with
visual markings throughout the textual material before the text is
presented.

8. The presentation of claim 1, wherein primary conjunctions are visually
marked with a primary conjunction marking, and secondary conjunctions are
visually marked with a secondary conjunction marking.

9. The presentation of claim 8, wherein primary conjunctions indicate the
relationship between at least one of the major clauses in a sentence or
between subsections in a sentence.

10. The presentation of claim 1, wherein first level exception clauses are
marked with a primary exception marking.

11. The presentation of claim 1, wherein second level exception clauses
are marked with a secondary exception marking.

12. The presentation of claim 10 wherein said first level exception
clauses indicate an exception to an entire sentence.

13. The presentation of claim 1, wherein each sentence in the textual
material which ends within a section or paragraph is marked with a
sentence termination marking at its endpoint.

14. The presentation of claim 1, wherein groups of words which are to be
read and understood as a unit are marked with a cohesive phrase marking.

16. A method of presenting textual material comprising the steps
of:enhancing occurrences of textual terms indicating if-then statements
throughout the textual material before the text is presented;
andenhancing occurrences of textual terms indicating skeletal sentence
structures with a skeletal sentence visual markings throughout the
textual material before the text is presented.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of providing a
legend for the textual material comprising representations of the visual
markings and their corresponding meanings.

18. The method of claim 165 further comprising the step of marking
occurrences of a primary if-then structure of each sentence throughout
the textual material with a primary if-then marking before the text is
presented.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking
occurrences of a secondary if-then structure of each sentence throughout
the textual material with a secondary if-then marking before the text is
presented, wherein second-level if-then markings indicate an if-then
structure within a portion of each sentence.

21. The method of claim 16T wherein for implied if-then statements,
further comprising the step of inserting a literal if-then term and
visually marking the inserted if-then term to indicate its inclusion.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking
occurrences of first level conjunctions throughout the textual material
with a primary conjunction marking before the text is presented.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking
occurrences of second level conjunctions throughout the textual material
with a secondary conjunction marking before the text is presented.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein said primary conjunction markings
indicate the relationship between major clauses in a sentence or between
subsections in a sentence.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking
occurrences of first level exception clauses throughout the textual
material with a primary exception marking.

26. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking
occurrences 1o of second level exception clauses throughout the textual
material with a secondary exception marking.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein said first level exception markings
indicate an exception to application of each entire sentence.

28. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking each
sentence in the textual material which ends within a section or paragraph
with a sentence termination marking at its endpoint.

29. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of marking groups
of words which are to be read and understood as a unit with a cohesive
phrase marking.

30. A presentation of textual material in legal documents, wherein textual
terms indicating features of sentence structure are enhanced with visual
marking throughout the textual material to facilitate reader
comprehension before the text is presented.

31. A method of presenting textual material in legal documents comprising
the steps of:selecting a system of font and text characteristics for use
as visual markings to represent features of sentence structure;
andapplying those markings consistently throughout the textual material
before the material is presented to enhance reader comprehension.

Description:

BACKGROUND

[0001]1. Technical Field

[0002]The present invention relates generally to a text parsing system and
method, and in particular, to a system and method for applying
standardized markings to legal textual materials, particularly statutes
and contracts, to improve the readability and facilitate the
understanding of same.

[0003]2. Description of Related Art

[0004]Legal texts, particularly statutes (including treaties, rules,
regulations, contracts, agreements, and other relationship-governing
documents, whether promulgated within or outside the United States) and
contracts are notoriously difficult to read. These texts are often the
product of negotiation and compromise, so they may be composed hastily,
by persons who do not write particularly well, or composed over an
extended period of time in which numerous additional terms, conditions,
exceptions, etc. are added and revised. In particular, many legal
documents include lengthy, complex, compound sentences. Often, a single
sentence may contain hundreds of words. The complexity and structure of
such legal documents can, if not understood accurately, cause
misunderstandings, errors and misinterpretations of intent, which can
result in serious legal consequences for the reader.

[0005]Thus, in an effort to correctly understand the intent of legal
language, readers often read and re-read the documents many times. That
is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and frustrating. A single statute or
other legal document may be read millions of times by hundreds of
thousands of lawyers, judges, law students, and lay persons. The reader
may desire to apply a statute to a real or hypothetical case or
situation, or simply to gain an understanding of the material. In any
event, readers spend substantial, valuable time parsing and attempting to
make sense of legal documents. Each reading begins anew with the bare,
unmarked text of the statute or contract. The reader often marks up the
document in an effort to parse and understand the material during
reading. In the case of readers in the legal profession, billions of
dollars of time are wasted as each reader repeats similar steps in
individually parsing the statute or contract. Such personalized marked-up
versions are typically marked ineffectively and in manners understandable
only to the readers who marked them. Readers who wish to visually enhance
legal documents must each prepare their own versions.

[0006]Some drafters and publishers of statutes and contracts have taken
steps to try to facilitate the reading of statutory sentences and other
legal language by dividing complex sentences or provisions into sections,
subsections, and sub-subsections. Each is typically a separate paragraph.
That is, a single sentence is divided into several paragraphs. Further,
drafters and publishers may indent subsections and double-indentation of
sub-subsections, etc., to visually emphasize the differences among them.
Captions may be placed in boldface. Drafters may number or letter
sections, subsections, and sub-subsections for organizational purposes,
and place those numbers and letters in parentheses and/or boldface. While
these techniques may provide a somewhat clearer organization of the
language of statutes and contracts, nevertheless, they fall far short of
solving the problem. Complex legal documents remain difficult to read and
understand.

[0007]U.S Patent Application No. 2007/0010993 entitled "Method and System
for the Automatic Recognition of Deceptive Language" discloses a method
for parsing transcribed legal documents such as sworn testimony or
depositions in which "deception indicator tags" are inserted that
indicate deception in the statement, based on key words, a
"part-of-speech" tag, or a phrase of interest. By indicating probable
deception, Bachenko makes the statement easier for an investigator to
review.

[0008]U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,513 entitled "Method for Editing and Enhancing
Readability of Authored Documents" describes a method for editing
documents which involves scanning a sentence to check for occurrences of
each of a plurality of signs and applying sign-dependent logic to the
sentence to assess whether the sentence includes unnecessary text and
phrases that can be deleted or text that can be improved.

[0009]GB 2,433,403 entitled "Displaying Selected Phrases in a Translated
Text," teaches a method for parsing and editing text translated between
two languages. A part of a first text may be distinguished (e.g.,
highlighted or underlined) from the rest of the text, which causes the
corresponding part of a second translated text to also be distinguished
from the rest of the second text.

[0010]U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,611 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Preparing
Customized Reading Material" describes a method of producing reading
materials in which the portion of a story associated with various reading
characters is displayed in a different color, indicia, or representation
so that each reader in a group can read the parts of specific characters
throughout the book and easily follow along.

[0011]Accordingly, a system and method for improving the readability and
comprehension of legal documents, particularly statutes and contracts, in
an effective and efficient manner, without altering the meaning or intent
of the language, is highly desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012]The present invention is directed to a system and method for
providing a standardized parsing and mark-up technique in printings or
displays of textual materials, particularly complex legal documents, to
enhance readability and understanding of same. The markings are applied
throughout the textual material preferably before the material is
presented to a reader. While the present invention is particularly
adapted for use with legal documents, and particularly for use with
statutes and contracts because of the inherently complex yet logical
"if-then" structure of these writings, the present invention may also be
used for any other types of reading materials that contain complex
language which is desired to be broken down into an easier-to-read
format.

[0013]According to an aspect of the present invention, the standardized
marking system provides a consistent format which renders the statute or
contract easier and quicker to read by all future readers by visually
isolating each sentence and revealing certain aspects of the sentence's
structure. The markings may be varied in levels of visual prominence
corresponding with the level of the term's structure or significance. A
legend may be provided with each document listing the symbols/markings
and their various corresponding meanings.

[0014]A reader who can see the identified aspects of sentence structure
can more quickly understand the sentence. If the same markings are used
to highlight the same characteristics in numerous sentences, the reader
can develop personal skills and techniques for using the markings to read
the marked documents more quickly and with better comprehension. For
example, one such technique is to begin reading a sentence at the
beginning of a primary "if" clause, regardless of the position of that
"if" clause in the sentence.

[0015]In one aspect of the present invention, a presentation of textual
material is provided, wherein sentences containing multiple independent
clauses are enhanced with primary visual markings and most or all
sentences or independent clauses are enhanced with secondary markings
throughout the textual material before the text is presented. In
particular, textual terms comprising skeletal sentence structures are
enhanced with skeletal sentence visual markings throughout the textual
material before the text is presented.

[0016]According to another aspect, a method of presenting textual material
is provided comprising the steps of enhancing occurrences of textual
terms in sentences containing multiple independent clauses with primary
visual markings throughout the textual material before the text is
presented, and enhancing occurrences of textual terms in most or all
sentences or independent clauses that are secondary features (including
skeletal sentences) with secondary visual markings before the text is
presented.

[0017]Some exemplary terms used in this disclosure may be defined as
follows:

[0020]"Primary (i.e., first-level) if-then markings:" indicate the primary
if-then structure that divides the sentence into independent clauses
which may be analyzed separately.

[0021]"Primary (i.e., first level) conjunction markings:" indicate the
relationship between the major clauses in a sentence or between
subsections in a sentence.

[0022]"Primary (i.e., first level) exception markings:" indicate an
exception to application of the entire sentence.

[0023]"Skeletal sentence:" indicates the main structure of each sentence,
if-clause, or then clause. The skeletal sentence includes the subject,
verb, direct object, and may also include any articles, adjectives and
adverbs that directly modify any of them.

[0024]"Secondary (i.e., second-level) if-then markings" indicates an
if-then structure within only a portion of the sentence.

[0025]"Secondary (i.e., second-level) conjunction markings:" indicate a
relationship between listed items; multiple subjects, verbs or direct
objects; or sub-subsections that is important, but does not qualify for
first-level conjunction status.

[0026]Secondary (i.e., second level) exception markings:" indicates an
exception to only a portion of the sentence.

[0027]According to one example, the present invention provides a system
and method for an initial marking-up or parsing of a legal document, such
as statutory text, prior to the time of printing, publication or display.
The markings that embody the parse are preferably in a standardized
format that are easily distinguished from the text of the legal document
itself and do not interfere with or impede the ability of a reader to add
his/her own additional, customized markings.

[0028]According to one aspect of the present invention, a presentation of
textual material in legal documents is provided, wherein textual terms
indicating features of sentence structure are enhanced with visual
marking throughout the textual material before the text is presented, to
facilitate reader comprehension.

[0029]According to another aspect of the present invention, a presentation
of textual material is provided, wherein textual terms indicating if-then
statements and skeletal sentence structures are enhanced with visual
marking throughout the textual material before the text is presented.

[0030]According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method
of presenting textual material is provided comprising the steps of
enhancing occurrences of textual terms indicating if-then statements
throughout the textual material before the text is presented, and
enhancing occurrences of textual terms indicating skeletal sentence
structures with a skeletal sentence visual markings throughout the
textual material before the text is presented.

[0031]According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method
of presenting textual material in legal documents is provided comprising
the steps of selecting a system of font and text characteristics for use
as visual markings to represent features of sentence structure, and
applying those markings consistently throughout the textual material
before the material is presented to enhance reader comprehension.

[0032]These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will be described or become apparent from the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which is to be read in
connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033]FIG. 1 is a depiction of a sample legend showing various exemplary
markings for parsing a text and their corresponding names and
descriptions according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0034]FIGS. 2A-2B is an exemplary excerpt of a statute marked-up to parse
its textual language in accordance with the legend of FIG. 1;

[0035]FIG. 3 is an exemplary legal notice marked up to parse its textual
language in accordance with the legend of FIG. 1; and

[0036]FIG. 4 is an exemplary method flow for parsing textual documents to
indicate and emphasize the structure and relationships of phrases and
sentences according to an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037]It is to be understood that the exemplary system modules and method
steps described herein may be implemented in various forms, including
manually or via hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors,
or a combination thereof. Preferably, the present invention is
implemented in software as an application program tangibly embodied on
one or more program storage is devices. The application program may be
executed by any machine, device or platform comprising suitable
architecture. It is to be further understood that, because some of the
constituent system modules and method steps depicted in the accompanying
Figures are preferably implemented in software, the actual connections
between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending
upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the
teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able
to contemplate or practice these and similar implementations or
configurations of the present invention.

[0038]FIG. 1 is a depiction of a sample legend showing various exemplary
markings for parsing a text and their corresponding descriptions
according to an aspect of the present invention. However, markings which
may be used in accordance with the present invention are not limited to
those shown in FIG. 1. The term "markings" as used herein may comprise
any type of indicia, e.g., punctuation effects, font style and font
effects, underlining, capitalization, letter styles, colors, color
highlights, shadowing, grey-scale, raised text, etc. A variety of text
characteristics can be used to highlight words, including but not limited
to boldface, italics, parentheses, brackets, color, and shading, used in
various combinations. It is noted that any type of markings, font
effects, capitalization, letter styles, or other indicia may be used to
visually distinguish the desired text in the document and thus effectuate
the parsing, and the markings shown in FIG. 1 are for exemplary and
illustrative purposes only. Principles of the present invention are
compatible with and indeed, preferably best used in conjunction with
other, existing techniques, such as subparagraph indentations, paragraph
separations, and paragraph numbering and lettering.

[0039]In addition or alternatively, colors may be used to highlight and
distinguish the desired text. Colors may be user-defined or
pre-determined and applied in accordance with a provided legend or key.

[0040]Still other methods can be used to indicate that the reader should
treat a group of words as a single unit or phrase. The beginning of the
phrase can be marked with a symbol, such as an open parenthesis, and the
end of the phrase can be marked with a similar symbol, such as a closing
parenthesis. The font of the words in the phrase can be shaded (e.g., 50%
shading), or the background for that font can be shaded (e.g. 12.5%).

[0041]Any other type of sentence structure, grammatical notation, visual
aids, etc., in a document, aside from those shown for exemplary purposes
herein, may be enhanced and marked with any desired indicia.

[0042]While a system and method according to the present principles is
particularly described with respect to application to legal documents
such as statutes, contracts, etc., it is to be noted that application of
the present principles to any type of textual material or document, e.g.,
in which reading and comprehension is desired to be improved, may be
contemplated.

[0043]Legal documents such as statutory material can be particularly
difficult to read, because the sentences are often lengthy, complex, and
ambiguous. One does not read a complex statutory provision so much as one
analyzes it. A marking and parsing system and method according to the
present principles essentially accomplishes four goals. First, they
divide the statute into sentences and clauses that can each be analyzed
separately. Second, they show the skeletal sentence structure within
independent clauses. Third, they indicate the beginnings and ends of
cohesive phrases that should be read as single units. Fourth, they show
the relationships among those sentences, clauses, and phrases.

[0044]For example, a system and method according to the present principles
may employ about ten different types of markings to distinguish between
the following types, structures, and forms of text in legal material. It
is noted that the terms "first-level" and "primary" may be used
interchangeably herein. In addition, the terms "second-level" and
"secondary" may be used interchangeably herein.

[0045]1. Sentences: Sentences are the fundamental building blocks of
statutory material. Each can and should be analyzed separately. Legal
documents such as statutes are typically composed of many sentences
arranged in paragraphs, or `sections.` To analyze a sentence in a legal
document, the reader must first know where it begins and ends. That can
be difficult because sentences in legal documents often run across the
visual boundaries of sections and subsections, and periods which are
typically used to indicate the end of a sentence are so small as to be
nearly invisible. As shown in FIG. 1, a sentence termination marking 101
may be provided for indicating the end of a sentence in a legal document,
and is preferably added after an existing period. Such marking 101
preferably comprises a large, visually distinct form which adds visual
emphasis, such as a solid black box. Other types of markings may be used,
such as solid enlarged forms in any shape (e.g., circles, triangles,
hexagons, etc.) and/or may include color, shading, etc.

[0046]According to a preferred embodiment, if a sentence ends within a
section or paragraph of the document, the sentence termination marking
101 is applied. If a sentence ends at the end of a section, or subsection
in the document, the application of the marking 101 is unnecessary.

[0047]Readers will use the sentence termination marks by first noting
visually where each sentence begins and ends. That enables them to ignore
other surrounding sentences and materials until they grasp the meaning of
the current sentence.

[0048]2. First-level "if-then" clauses: Sentences in legal documents such
as, e.g., statutes and contracts, typically differ from sentences in
other types of writings in that the former are, by nature, requirements
or commands. For example, every statute can be viewed as a legislative
command that if certain conditions are met, then certain consequences
should follow. Each sentence, explicitly or implicitly, indicates the
circumstances under which it applies. If those circumstances are not
present, the statute does not apply. Each sentence, explicitly or
implicitly, also indicates the consequences of its application. Many
statutes begin with the word "if" followed by a clause that specifies
those conditions (the "if-clause"), and finish with the word "then"
followed by a clause that specifies those consequences (the
"then-clause"). Together, the two clauses comprise the entire sentence.
Such sentences comprise logical if-then statements. The division into an
if-clause and a then-clause is the main part of the primary structure of
sentences in legal documents. According to one aspect of the present
invention, the primary structure" of the document is marked, i.e.,
textual terms (express or implied) indicating first level if-then
statements are marked and emphasized throughout the document. For
example, first level if-then structures may be marked using the
first-level if-then markings shown as 103 in FIG. 1.

[0049]Each if-clause and then-clause is typically an independent clause.
That is, each has the structure of an independent sentence in that each
contains a subject, a verb, and perhaps a direct object or subject
complement. Such an "if" or "then" clause could be made into an
independent sentence without altering its meaning. For example, a statute
might state:

"If the debtor has rights in the collateral, then a security interest is
enforceable."

[0050]This phrase is composed of the following two individually complete
sentences:

[0051]1. "The debtor has rights in the collateral,"

[0052]2. "A security interest is enforceable"

[0053]The appearance of the word "if" commences an "if" clause and the
word "then" commences a "then" clause. Accordingly, the words "if" and
"then" are distinguished or highlighted throughout the text where they
are used in this manner. For example, a primary if-then marking 103 may
be applied, using boldface, underlining and brackets if the word is
inserted. Advantageously, this visually prominent marking indicates to
the reader the primary "if-then" structure of a sentence, thus dividing
the sentence clearly into two parts which may be separately analyzed. For
example, the above sample phrase may be marked up as follows:

TABLE-US-00001
"If the debtor has rights in the collateral, then a security interest is
enforceable."

[0054]This simple if-then structure (referred to here as a "first-level"
or "primary" if-then structure) may be marked up in any desired way,
e.g., by making the "if" and "then" boldface and bright red.

[0055]Note that the exact words "if" and "then" do not appear in every
statute. First, statute drafters often substitute equivalent words for
"if," such as "even if," "when," "while," "during," "whenever," "until,"
"unless," and "to the extent that." These terms and any other equivalent
terms are marked in the same manner as "if." In FIG. 2B, an exemplary
insertion of the phrase "to the extent that" 201 is shown, and provided
in bold print for indicating its insertion. Second, the word "then" is
often implied, and does not appear outright. For example: [0056]"If the
debtor has rights in the collateral, a security interest is enforceable."

[0057]In situations where sentences include an implied "then," the word
then" may be added in the appropriate location in the sentence, with
brackets placed around it to indicate that it does not literally appear
in the statute, yet is implied. That is, in many instances, the words
"if" or "then" are implicit. In that event, the words "if" and "then" may
be inserted at the appropriate locations in the text. Their insertion may
be indicated by any method for indicating that words have been inserted
into material written by others. For example, one method is to place the
added word in brackets. For example:

TABLE-US-00002
"If the debtor has rights in the collateral, a security interest is
enforceable."

[0058]Inserting the necessary words does not, however, always enhance
readability and understanding. In some instances, it may even detract
from readability and understanding.

[0059]Uniform Commercial Code §1-101 may be an example. That section
states that "This Act may be cited as the Uniform Commercial Code." This
statement is short and easy to understand without highlighting. To render
that statement an if-then statement, one must imply a large portion of
the result: "[If it is] this Act [then it] may be cited as the Uniform
Commercial Code."

[0060]The larger the portion of the if-then structure that is implied, the
greater the risk that rendering the implied expression will alter the
meaning of the statute. Judgment must be exercised to determine whether
the readability and understanding of any particular sentence will be
improved by the method, without unacceptable risk of altering or
confusing its meaning. In the preferred embodiment, if there is
significant risk of confusion and/or altering the meaning, the method
should not be applied to that sentence.

[0061]3. First-level conjunctions: First level conjunctions are part of
the "primary structure" of a sentence. A sentence that is in the form of
an if-then statement may have multiple if clauses, multiple then-clauses,
or both. Multiple if-clauses may present multiple or alternative
conditions which must be met for a primary consequence to follow.
Multiple then-clauses may present multiple or alternative consequences
that follow if the if-clause conditions are met. In either situation, the
statute almost certainly will contain a conjunction (typically the word
"and" or "or") that indicates whether the conditions are multiple or
alternative. If the sentence contains a conjunction (nearly always "and"
or "or") that specifies the logical relationship between the "if" clauses
or between the "then" clauses, the conjunction is preferably marked as a
primary conjunction.

[0062]These "first-level" conjunctions indicate the relationships among
and between first-level if-clauses or then-clauses. Primary conjunction
markings 105 may be used to mark first-level conjunction terms by, for
example, making them boldface within a linear box. Use of a different
color/style font may also be contemplated. The implicit "if" or "then"
may be made explicit by inserting it in brackets and marking if as a
primary if or then 103. For example, a sentence is that reads:

TABLE-US-00003
"If value has been given and the debtor has rights in the collateral,
then the security interest is enforceable.

[0063]might be marked:

TABLE-US-00004
"If value has been given the debtor has rights in the
collateral, then the security interest is enforceable."

[0064]First-level conjunction markings 105 may also be applied to
conjunctions that indicate the relationship between the principal
subsections of a section of the document. For example:

TABLE-US-00005
"[Then] A security interest is enforceable only if:
(1) value has been given;
(2) the debtor has rights in the collateral;
(3) the debtor has authenticated a security agreement that
provides a description of the collateral."

[0065]Primary conjunction markings effectively divide the sentence into
additional parts that the reader can analyze separately. Readers should
treat primary conjunctions dividers that are on the same level with
primary "if-then" structures and primary exceptions, and superior to all
other sentence dividers.

[0066]4. First-level exceptions: A first-level exception is an exception
that applies to the entire sentence. That is, if the terms of the
exception are met, the sentence does not apply. First-level exception
markings 111 may be used to distinguish the exception phrases and may
comprise, e.g., prominent parentheses that appear as halt-circles to mark
the beginning and end of each first-level exception clause. For example:

TABLE-US-00006
"(2) "Account": except as used in "account for" , means a right to
payment of a monetary obligation..."

[0067]Primary exception markings 111 can be used to signal to the reader
that the reader can ignore these clauses until the reader has otherwise
completed the reader's analysis of the sentence. (Such first-level
exceptions might also be considered to be additional, but negative, `if`
clauses, e.g., "if not [a] and if [b], then [c].")

[0068]Depending on the circumstances that brought the reader to the
statute, the reader can either (1) analyze the section, ignoring the
exception language until the analysis is complete, or (2) analyze the
exception, ignoring the remainder of the sentence until the reader
determines whether the exception has rendered it irrelevant.

[0069]5. Skeletal sentences: A "skeletal sentence" includes the subject,
verb, and direct object (or subject complement) of a more extensive
sentence. Optionally, the skeletal sentence may be treated as including
some or all of the articles, adjectives, and adverbs that directly modify
the subject, verb, or direct object. The words that comprise a skeletal
sentence may be marked by a skeletal sentence marking. FIG. 1 shows the
skeletal sentence as marked by underlining 107. Alternatively, the
skeletal sentence markings 107 might, for example, be a colored
background shading The skeletal sentence is part of the secondary
structure of the sentence.

[0070]If a sentence has multiple subjects, verbs, or direct objects,
either the first of each may be marked, or all may be marked.
Advantageously, skeletal sentence markings 107 visually accentuate and
emphasize the main part of each sentence to the reader--that is, a
complete thought--which indicates what the sentence generally does or
means. In addition, it visually distinguishes the main part of the
sentence from the usually more complex prepositional phrases and dangling
clauses that fill out the sentence, which might be distracting to the
reader.

[0071]If the same marking used to mark the subject, verb, and direct
object (or subject complement) is also used to mark articles preceding
the subject or object, the intervening adjectives, and any adverb
adjacent to the verb, the reader will experience the skeletal sentence as
a sentence. This further contributes to quick understanding of the
material.

[0072]For example,

TABLE-US-00007
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g), a
perfected purchase-money security interest in goods other than
inventory or livestock has priority over a conflicting security interest
in the same goods, , except as otherwise provided in Section 9-327,
a perfected security interest in its identifiable proceeds also
has priority, if the purchase-money security interest is perfected
when the debtor receives possession of the collateral or within 20
days thereafter.

[0073]becomes:

TABLE-US-00008
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g), a
perfected purchase-money security interest in goods other than
inventory or livestock has priority over a conflicting security interest
in the same goods, , except as otherwise provided in Section 9-327,
a perfected security interest in its identifiable proceeds also
has priority, if the purchase-money security interest is perfected
when the debtor receives possession of the collateral or within 20
days thereafter.

[0074]Readers using skeletal sentence marks may begin by noting the
position of each sentence termination mark 101, each primary if or then
marking 103, and each primary conjunction. The group of words between any
two such marks are a sentence or an independent clause that can be read
as a sentence. Within each such group, the smaller number of words marked
that constitute the skeletal sentence are marked as the skeletal sentence
107. Readers benefit because they can more easily focus on each such
sentence or independent clause individually. They can read the skeletal
sentence first to understand generally what the sentence does or means.
They can then consider how the remaining words of the sentence change or
add to its meaning. Often, the skeletal sentence alone makes little
sense, and qualifications provided in the remaining words of the sentence
are crucial to understanding the sentence.

[0075]6. Secondary if-then clauses: A secondary if-then clause indicates
an "if-then" structure that operates within only a portion of the
sentence. Either these structures do not divide the sentence into
sub-sentences that can be analyzed in isolation, or they relate only to a
part of the sentence. That is, such a secondary if-clause states a
condition that, if met, results not in the primary consequence, but in
some lesser, subordinate consequence. The lesser consequence, for
example, may be that one element of the first-level "if" clause need not
be satisfied. For example, the sentence structure may be "If (a) and Lf
(b) then (c)) then (d)." In that structure, the double-underlined "if"
and "then" are second level. If the condition (b) is not met, then the
second level consequence, (c), is not a condition of (e).

[0076]Secondary if-then markings 109 may be any type of marking, but are
preferably of the same general type as first level if-then markings 103,
but noticeably less prominent. For example, if primary if-then markings
103 are a bright red bold font, secondary if-then markings 109 may be a
bright red regular font. Complete sentences usually do not exist within
secondary if-then clauses, so skeletal sentences are not present. Even
when they are present, the skeletal sentences are not indicated. For
example:

TABLE-US-00009
Conflicting security interests held by secured parties each of which
has control under Section 9-106 rank according to priority in time
of:
(A) if the collateral is a security, obtaining control;
(B) if the collateral is a security entitlement carried in a
securities account then ...

[0077]To use secondary if-then structures, readers might first locate the
second level "if" and corresponding "then" terms. They might then
consider each clause separately, while keeping in mind that elements of
the clause may be implied from and so are found in, other parts of the
sentence.

[0078]7. Second-level exceptions: A second-level exception is an exception
clause that does not apply to the entire sentence, but only applies to a
portion of the sentence. Secondary exception markings 113 may be used to
distinguish such exception clauses. Preferably, the markings used as
secondary exception markings 113 are subordinate to and not as prominent
as the primary exception markings 111. For example, secondary exception
markings 113 may indicate the beginning and end of significant secondary
exceptions with pointed parentheses. For example:

TABLE-US-00010
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g) , a
perfected purchase-money security interest in goods other than
inventory or livestock has priority over a conflicting security interest
in the same goods, , except as otherwise provided in Section
9-327 , a perfected security interest in its identifiable proceeds also
has priority, if the purchase-money security interest is perfected
(when the debtor receives possession of the collateral) (within
20 days thereafter).

Generally, readers cannot ignore a marked secondary exception in analyzing
the sentence, but can ignore it until after the reader has analyzed the
part of the sentence to which it applies.

[0079]8. Cohesive phrases: A cohesive phrase is a group of words that are
best read and understood as a single unit. The beginnings and ends of
cohesive phrases may be marked by a cohesive phrase marking such as 115
shown in FIG. 1 (bold parentheses from a different font set), or any
other desired indicia. It may be helpful to think of the entire cohesive
phrase as a multi-word noun. The cohesive phrase may comprise two or
three words, or it may continue for several lines of text. Each cohesive
phrase may have its own, complex structure within it (in the preferred
embodiment, that internal structure is not marked). To determine where a
cohesive phrase begins or ends may be difficult and often depends on the
exercise of human judgment. For example:

TABLE-US-00011
[A] security interest (in goods covered by a certificate of title)
which is perfected (by any method under the law of another
jurisdiction)when (the goods become covered by a certificate of
title from this State) remains perfected until (the security interest
would have become unperfected under the law of the other
jurisdiction had the goods not become so covered).

[0080]Cohesive phrases may be nested one within another. In addition, they
may overlap with skeletal sentences. In both cases, the preferred
embodiment is to not mark the nested or overlapping cohesive phrases.

[0081]Cohesive phrases often appear in lists of two or more items, joined
by a conjunction. In these instances, each cohesive phrase can be marked
separately and the conjunction can be marked or highlighted. If the
cohesive phrases are lengthy and more than two appear in the same list,
the conjunction can be repeated (in brackets to indicate its addition)
between each pair of cohesive phrases. For example:

TABLE-US-00012
"Chattel paper" means a record or records that evidence both (a
monetary obligation) (a security interest in specific goods, a
security interest in specific goods and software used in the goods, a
security interest in specific goods and license of software used in
the goods, a lease of specific goods, or a lease of specific goods
and license of software used in the goods).

[0082]To analyze the part of a sentence that contains a cohesive phrase,
the reader might begin by reading and understanding the phrase as a unit
Then, the reader would consider that unit in the context of the entire
sentence. If multiple cohesive phrases appear in a list, the reader might
examine the context of the sentence to determine the consequence or
significance of appearing on the list.

[0083]9. Second-level conjunctions: A conjunction is a second level
conjunction if it indicates an important relationship, but one that is
subordinate to a first-level conjunction. Second-level conjunctions
typically comprise the words "and" or "on" and may be used and applied in
various ways. For example, in skeletal sentences, they may be used to
indicate the relationship between multiple subjects, verbs or direct
objects. Second, in lists composed of multiple cohesive phrases, they may
be used to indicate the relationship among the cohesive phrases. Third,
where first-level conjunctions are used to indicate the relationships
among subsections, second-level conjunctions may be used to indicate the
relationships among sub-subsections.

[0084]Secondary conjunction markings 117 are used to highlight the
second-level conjunction in a way which is preferably distinguishable
from, and less prominent than, primary conjunctions markings 105. For
example, while primary conjunction markings 105 may comprise a
standard-size bolded font within a box, secondary conjunction markings
117 may comprise a smaller-sized non-bolded font within a box. To
illustrate:

TABLE-US-00013
The term does not include (i) charters other contracts involving
the use or hire of a vessel (ii) records that evidence (a right to
payment arising out of the use of a credit or charge card)
(information contained on or for use with the card).

[0085]Secondary conjunctions that appear within the bounds of a skeletal
sentence should be read as part of the skeletal sentence (unless the
context otherwise requires). Secondary conjunctions that appear after a
closed parenthesis and before an open parenthesis should be read as
indicating the relationship between cohesive phrases. The "and" in the
phrase "(a) and (b)" exemplifies this.

[0086]10. Custom markings: Readers may further add their own markings to
the document in addition to any of the above markings. For example,
readers may wish to highlight words that are not included in the skeletal
sentence, but that are crucial to the meaning of the sentence. Readers
who seek to apply a statute to a particular case or hypothetical case may
wish to underline the specific words that apply.

[0087]The particular methods of implementation of the present invention
may be customized, varied or altered, depending on the type of readers
who will be using or reading the text. For example, law students who
purchase a statutory supplement for one of their courses are likely to
wish to make personal markings in the statutes or contracts, by
underlining words or highlighting words using a yellow or pink marker.
Preferably, the markings provided according to the present invention in
such a supplement should not use colored underlining, or background
highlighting in yellow or pink.

[0088]In another example, statutes printed for sale principally to law
firms and libraries might preferably use background highlighting in
colors because users of those printings are unlikely to highlight their
copies. Such statutes probably should not be highlighted by underlining
because underlining is frequently used by drafters and publishers as
indicating words inserted during revision of a statute. The conjunction
of those different uses may cause confusion and misinterpretation.

[0089]FIGS. 2A-2B is an exemplary excerpt of a legal document, e.g.,
Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, marked-up to parse its textual
language in accordance with the legend of FIG. 1. Exemplary use of the
markings of FIG. 1 is shown and demonstrated.

[0090]As another example, FIG. 3 is an exemplary legal notice marked up to
parse its textual language in accordance with the legend of FIG. 1.

[0091]FIG. 4 is an exemplary method flow for parsing textual documents to
indicate and emphasize the structure and relationships of phrases and
sentences according to an aspect of the present invention. The order of
the steps shown in FIG. 4 are by way of example and not limitation.
Namely, steps 402-410 may be performed or exercised in any desired order.
However, the steps shown in FIG. 4 are exemplary and indicate that
characteristics may be marked in this is order:

[0092]1) Sentence endings

[0093]2) Primary ifs and thens

[0094]3) Primary exceptions

[0095]4) Primary conjunctions

[0096]5) Skeletal sentence structures

[0097]6) Secondary ifs and thens

[0098]7) Secondary exceptions

[0099]8) Cohesive phrases

[0100]9) Secondary conjunctions

[0101]10) Custom markings

[0102]The markings applied at any of the steps may comprise any types of
markings that visually emphasize the text, such as boldface, text
effects, font styles, symbols, etc. Preferably, the same types of
markings are used consistently throughout a given material for each type
of text which is desired to be emphasized, so as to provide a
standardized marking system. Human judgment may be applied and exercised
to determine whether to mark or emphasize particular textual terms (that
is, to determine whether the terms meet the desired criteria for
marking).

[0103]For any given text which is desired to be parsed (step 401), the
text is reviewed for sentence endpoints, and in step 402, sentence
termination markings are added to the end of each sentence. Preferably,
the sentence termination markings are only added to the end of sentences
which end in the middle of a section or paragraph. If the end of the
sentence coincides with the end of a paragraph or section, a sentence
termination marking is not needed.

[0104]In step 403, the text is reviewed for occurrences of primary
`if-then` structures. As discussed previously, primary ifs or thens
divide sentences into if-clauses that explicitly or implicitly indicate
the circumstances under which the sentences apply and then-clauses that
explicitly or implicitly indicate the consequences of the sentences'
application. The words "if" or "then" are not necessarily always used,
and thus the text is also searched for the existence of other if-then
statements. Those equivalents may use alternate terms for "if" and "then"
or "if or "then" may be implied.

[0105]In step 403, primary if-then statements, are visually marked. That
includes the word "if" or "then" and equivalent terms, such as "while" or
"during." Any type of marking may be used, as discussed above. Such
marking may be further distinguished as being a first level if-then
marking. Preferably, first level if-then markings are noticeably more
prominent than second level if-then markings. If the if-then terms are
only implied but not shown in the text, then the literal `if or `then`
term may be added to the sentence with an additional marking to show that
it was added.

[0106]In step 404, the beginnings and ends of primary exception clauses
are marked with primary exception markings. As discussed above, primary
exception clauses are clauses which state exceptions from the operation
of the entire sentence. Preferably, first level exception markings are
made to be more prominent than second level exception markings.

[0107]In step 405, any occurrences of primary conjunctions are marked with
a primary conjunction marking. As discussed above, primary conjunctions
divide the sentence by indicating the relationship among independent
clauses.

[0108]In step 406, the skeletal terms in each sentence of the text are
marked. Skeletal terms may include the subject, verb and direct object of
each independent clause framed by first-level markings. Articles,
adjectives and adverbs that directly modify the subject, verb or direct
object may also be marked as skeletal terms. The skeletal terms indicate
the main structure of each sentence.

[0109]In step 407, any occurrences of secondary if-then clauses are marked
with a secondary if-then clause marking. As discussed above, secondary
ifs and thens divide clauses, but do not divide entire sentences.

[0110]In step 408, any occurrences of secondary exceptions are marked with
secondary exception markings. As discussed above, secondary exceptions
are exceptions from the operation of part, but not all of the sentence.

[0111]In step 409, the beginning and end of some, but not all cohesive
phrases are marked with cohesive phrase markings. As discussed above,
cohesive phrases typically comprise a group of words that should be read
and understood as a unit, and may be nested within each other, and/or be
overlapping. Those that are nested or overlapping generally are not
marked.

[0112]In step 410, any occurrences of secondary conjunctions are marked
with secondary conjunction markings. As discussed above, secondary
conjunctions indicate the relationships among multiple subjects, verbs,
or direct objects of a skeletal sentence, the relationships among
cohesive phrases in a list, or the relationships among sub-subsections
where the relationship among sections has been marked as a primary
conjunction.

[0113]In step 411, a legend or key may be prepared showing the visual
representations of all the markings used in the textual material,
together with a listing of each marking's corresponding description and
meaning. Each textual material or document may be provided with its own
legend, with standardized markings applied throughout its text. The
legend may be appended to the textual material, or appear on each page of
the document itself.

[0114]Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been
described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be
understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise
embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be
affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the
scope or spirit of the present invention. All such changes and
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.